Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Afghan newspaper rails against escalating drug trade

The state-run Afghan newspaper “Anis” ran an editorial on December 18 that called narcotics traffickers Afghanistan’s “main and real enemies,” RFE/RFL reported on Tuesday. The newspaper also linked the nation’s booming drug trade to government corruption. “Thanks to their boundless illegal wealth, [drug lords] have penetrated the highest levels of the government structure” and “have established relations with senior government officials,” the editorial asserted. “Anis” also criticized NATO forces for avoiding the growing drug problem and argued that drug lords must be apprehended by NATO and Afghan authorities before progress can be made in the fight against terrorism in the country.